Once you decide to begin your weight loss journey it's not just
temptation that seems to be everywhere, but weight loss competitions
too. All of a sudden everyone wants to know how you're doing, and they
are losing weight too. It's easy to find yourself sucked into the added
pressure of a competition to see whose weight loss is quickest.
However tempting it may be to get involved this probably isn't going to help you in the short or the long run. Here are some very good reasons to avoid weight loss competitions.
They take the focus off you
Measuring against someone else is not the path to your goals. Your teacher was right when they said you need to run your own race. It's easy to become more worried about what your competition is losing than your own progress. This attitude will make you the real loser in the end.
They place your focus on the scales rather than how you look and feel
The measures people use in weight loss competitions are usually pretty poor indicators of being in better shape. Seriously, what does a number on a scale actually tell you? It doesn't tell you how you look, feel or how your clothes fit you. These are much more useful than a scale.
Competitions lead to dieting and desperate measures
You're probably willing to do what it takes to win, but that means you will probably be using measures that you can't possibly keep up in the long term. This means you are way more likely to find that once the contest is over, the weight you lose will start creeping back.
Why enter a competition you can't win?
The irony, is that often you win by losing since you don't develop long term success habits. Weight loss is something like the story of the hare and the tortoise; slow and steady wins the race, except the truth is it's never really a race you want to win anyway, but rather to develop healthy long term habits that will keep you lean for the long term.
To avoid this you need to take the opposite approach, adopting healthy habits that are sustainable and will serve you long term. It's about learning a new way of life not winning a contest of a few weeks.
Think the long game.
You may run into negativity
People resist change, and a weight loss competition just draws attention to the positive changes you are making. Unfortunately as nobody likes to feel they are being left behind, a competition often draws out the worst in people, and you may find it coming at you.
The fact is it's probably best to avoid weight loss competitions, because you probably can't really win. Focus on yourself and your own goals. Your success is all about a process of learning to be better and if you don't know yet, you'll soon find that's got nothing to do with anyone else.
However tempting it may be to get involved this probably isn't going to help you in the short or the long run. Here are some very good reasons to avoid weight loss competitions.
They take the focus off you
Measuring against someone else is not the path to your goals. Your teacher was right when they said you need to run your own race. It's easy to become more worried about what your competition is losing than your own progress. This attitude will make you the real loser in the end.
They place your focus on the scales rather than how you look and feel
The measures people use in weight loss competitions are usually pretty poor indicators of being in better shape. Seriously, what does a number on a scale actually tell you? It doesn't tell you how you look, feel or how your clothes fit you. These are much more useful than a scale.
Competitions lead to dieting and desperate measures
You're probably willing to do what it takes to win, but that means you will probably be using measures that you can't possibly keep up in the long term. This means you are way more likely to find that once the contest is over, the weight you lose will start creeping back.
Why enter a competition you can't win?
The irony, is that often you win by losing since you don't develop long term success habits. Weight loss is something like the story of the hare and the tortoise; slow and steady wins the race, except the truth is it's never really a race you want to win anyway, but rather to develop healthy long term habits that will keep you lean for the long term.
To avoid this you need to take the opposite approach, adopting healthy habits that are sustainable and will serve you long term. It's about learning a new way of life not winning a contest of a few weeks.
Think the long game.
You may run into negativity
People resist change, and a weight loss competition just draws attention to the positive changes you are making. Unfortunately as nobody likes to feel they are being left behind, a competition often draws out the worst in people, and you may find it coming at you.
The fact is it's probably best to avoid weight loss competitions, because you probably can't really win. Focus on yourself and your own goals. Your success is all about a process of learning to be better and if you don't know yet, you'll soon find that's got nothing to do with anyone else.
No comments:
Post a Comment